By Angela Higginbotham
angela@floridanewsline.com

Florida native Diane Machaby grew up in Daytona Beach. She moved to the Jacksonville area in 1988 and in 2008, she made Nocatee her home. Machaby proudly spent her time as a stay at home mom before serving more than 20 years in the nonprofit field. Passionate about serving others and making the community better, Diane worked with the Keep Jax Beautiful Commission and Habitat for Humanity (Habijax). Later, she transferred to Habitat for Humanity in St. Augustine, where she served as executive director for more than a decade. In 2014, Machaby started work with Home Again St. Johns to help the homeless, primarily in St. Johns County.

Currently, Machaby and her husband, Terry, have joined their passions for helping others, art and photography to form Art 4 Charities. Also a talented author, her first book, “When God Showed Up” was released in January 2017. With hopes of additional books in the future, Machaby keeps a journal of occurrences and short stories. She gains inspiration from both her own daily life and the lives of her readers.

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1. What do you enjoy most about living in Ponte Vedra?

It’s a great community. The people are great. I’ve lived in Nocatee since it first started building and I envisioned a great community. I imagined a place where my daughters and grandkids would come to the splash park and enjoy life here.

  1. What would you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?

Raising two beautiful, successful daughters. They have stayed on the right path and focused on what’s important. They each have a masters degree and it’s wonderful to see them passionate about their careers.

  1. What service does your current business, Art 4 Charities, do?

We assist organizations in their fundraising efforts by providing beautiful artwork and photography to their supporters. If someone purchases a piece of artwork or photography from our website, 10 – 40 percent of the proceeds go to the buyer’s favorite charity. Our company has a unique method of generating revenue for nonprofits, civic groups, churches and schools. Nonprofits may also partner with us to become Charity Partners. My husband and I are very passionate about this work and we have goals of growing the business in many ways, even beyond North Florida.

  1. How do you enjoy spending your time outside of your work?

I enjoy boating and fishing. I spend time on our recumbent bike and playing water volleyball. I also like to sing, write and stay active in Crosswater Community Church.

  1. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

I would go to Europe. I can’t pick just one country. I’d love to bring photographs back and reproduce them.

 

Photo courtesy Diane Machaby

Diane Machaby, co-founder of Art 4 Charities, shows one of their framed canvases, “Sails of Hope,” taken by local photographer Nikki Brubaker of St. Augustine.

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